Larry, why don't you ever write the profound thoughts you share verbally?

Profound Thoughts?

deep, thoughtful, reflective, philosophical, weighty, insightful,

versus

superficial, shallow or “it goes without saying”

Are you blessed to have friends who can correct you in a way that motivates you rather than discourages you?  If you do, you know what a delight this can be.  On of my friends whom I have known closely for over thirty years said to me. "You have profound thoughts and you share them verbally with family and friends, why don't you write them on your blog?"  Good question.

 

There is a selfish way to approach meditation where its purpose is to give us more comfort instead of better dreams.  When we meditate on God and His Son Jesus the results should include empathy for others.  It is not an emptying of our hearts, but filling our hearts with Jesus love for ourselves and our neighbor.

 

Numerous studies have shown through scientific investigation that:

 

Meditation helps the brain to keep plasticity which is extremely good for our health in the long term. (UCLA)

Eight weeks of meditation not only helped people experience decreased anxiety and greater feelings of calm; it also produced growth in the areas of the brain associated with memory, empathy, sense of self, and stress regulation.

(Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, 2011)

 

Why? When we sit quietly and pray and read the Scriptures devotionally the brain is triggered to release neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins.  Each of these naturally occurring chemicals has been linked to different aspects of happiness.  Dopamine plays a key role in the brain’s ability to experience pleasure, feel rewarded, and maintain focus.

Psalm 42.

¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?

 

Jesus leads us to fish deeper.  He found busy people who were not succeeding spiritually and showed them a path to true, lasting fruitfulness.

I don’t know about you, but I resist things that are good for me.   I use the excuse which can work either way.  I will say to myself and Jesus in prayer, “I have never tried that before.” (Read, I don’t do that.  That is someone else’s job.)  If that doesn’t work I say, “I’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.”   I’m starting to think that beneath a mask of the dread of failure there is a deeper bedrock of the absolute panic of success.

When Jesus is our Lord, “No” is not a proper answer.  Rick Atchley, my preacher,  said last night in a teaching that “No, Lord” is an oxymoron.  I think he’s right.

When we follow Jesus and receive more of what we wanted than we ever expected we can have a reaction of “Get away from me Lord.”  I suspect that when I pray and follow Jesus’ work I will have success in the harvest.  Do I trust Jesus to not put more in my life than He and I can handle?  Often the answer is no.

"Lord, help me to trust You to carry the load in my life."

 The great men and women of God kept a focus on God:

Isaiah 26.2

You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.

Jesus calls all of us to fish for men.   We go to help people who are poor and needy.  We go to help those frozen in their guilt and shame and we show them how to have forgiveness and move forward.  We go to the people near us who are co-workers.  School teachers and fellow students.  People who work in the community as business men and women.  Soldiers.  Policemen and women. Some of these are good men and women who are already doing many good things, but they don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord.  They are lost in trying to find salvation in doing enough good to save themselves.  Cornelius was like that.  He was a good man and a competent centurion, but he was lost and needed to hear the good news of salvation through Jesus in order to be saved. (Acts 11.14)

There are people whom God is seeking who are good business people who are praying, their hearts are ready to open.  They are hungry for God.

There are people whom God is seeking who are working at jobs and they are where they are known as “learned” and have a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures.  These men and women may also be fervent about Jesus and teach His life and teachings accurately.  They might be the most  bold people in our community yet they still need to have the ways of God explained to them.

God help me to fish deeper.  This week may I meditate on Jesus and His ways of seeking those were needing to have some profound thoughts.

Luke 5.

Larry Wishard